


King of the Stray Dogs

by Josey (cestus), junko



Series: Shattered Souls [10]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-07
Updated: 2012-12-07
Packaged: 2017-11-20 13:25:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/585837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cestus/pseuds/Josey, https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Vizards have arrived with a plan, but will it be in time to save Renji?</p>
            </blockquote>





	King of the Stray Dogs

**Author's Note:**

> This is a canon divergence that takes place after the Aizen’s betrayal and before the Bount Arc.

"Shinji!" Kisuke spun round and sure enough, there was Hirako Shinji, leader of the Vizard and ex-captain of the fifth squad. Behind him stood Hachigen, his palms pressed together and his face a picture of concentration as he kept the barrier around Abarai secure. Kisuke didn't know whether to kiss them both for good timing or shout at them for almost letting him kill him. 

He settled for, "Where's Hiyori?" because if his ex-fukutaichō was there, he needed his box, fast. 

"I didn't bring her," Shinji said, "Tempting though it would have been to watch her kick you in the 'nads. Seriously, Kisuke, what the fuck?" He gestured broadly, managing to encompass the devastation around them, the hollowfied Abarai, and Kisuke's failures all in one go. How was it, Kisuke reflected, that after all these years, Shinji could still make him feel like the stupid little brother. 

"It's a long and complicated tale," Kisuke replied, in lieu of any excuses, and then offered the short version. "He asked for a gigai for his zanpakutō and it sounded like an interesting idea." He waved a hand – his fan was long gone – at the trapped Abarai. "And voila!"

"I know that much. It was the 'what the hell you were thinking when you actually did such a brain dead thing' that interested me. She told us the rest." Shinji nodded to something at his feet. Kisuke glanced down, at long slender legs in neon pink and green striped leggings, a generous body and a narrow face partially obscured by a tumbled fall of platinum-blonde hair. Zabimaru.

"Oh, thank the heavens!" Kisuke blurted, dropping to one knee and easing the hair from her face. She wasn't hurt, just out cold. He glanced up to see Shinji staring down at him with a smugly amused expression. "Where did you find her?"

"She found us actually, or more specifically, Lisa. She never could resist a pretty face and once she got close enough to realise that was a gigai, she brought her home. Maybe I should get her a cat instead. She always says she likes pussy." Shinji's face took on a thoughtful air and Kisuke had a moment to reflect that it really was annoying when other people did it before Shinji focused again.

"Once she realised where she was, she tried to get away. Not that that was happening any time soon." His laugh had an eerie echoing edge to it. "Anyway we were having a family conflab trying to decide what to do with her, when your little friend turned up." This time Shinji jerked a thumb over his shoulder. Kisuke looked up and saw Ichigo and small gaggle of others heading their way, one of whom was Orihime, with Ririn in tow. 

Shinji continued, "Her little pal could sense the zanpakutō but was as confused as all get out because of Hachi's barrier. The girl, though, she could see straight through it. Walk straight through it too, it turned out." He shot an accusatory look at Hachigen, who shrugged unapologetically. "She was the one who told us what was going down here." Shinji's laser-like focus honed in on Kisuke. "So we're back to, what the fuck, Kisuke?" 

"I had no idea he was going to hollowfy," Kisuke replied tartly. "You think I'd do that to someone else after seeing what happened to you?"

Shinji stared at him in disbelief. "What else was going to happen to him if you cut him off from his zanpakutō?"

He'd been right. Feeling vindicated, Kisuke shot back, "I don't know, because none of you ever bothered to tell me!" And damn it, how did Shinji manage to get him to raise his voice.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ichigo, of course, chose that moment to shunpo into range.

Shinji cast Ichigo's shihakushō a look of absolute loathing and snapped at Kisuke, "Another shinigami? You really are scraping the barrel for friends these days, aren't you."

"What the fuck's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo demanded, his hand drifting to Zangetsu's hilt. "And who the hell are you people anyway?"

"They're Vizard," Kisuke interjected before the profanity that Shinji was obviously working on managed to escape. 

"Vizard?" Ichigo asked with a frown just as Shinji said, "Now I'm gonna have to fucking kill him!"

"You and who's army," Ichigo fired back, getting up in Shinji's face.

Shinji responded with an evil smirk and lifted a hand. His mask spun noiselessly into existence between his finger and thumb, but whatever reaction he'd been expecting from Ichigo, it couldn't have been the one he got. Ichigo took a step back, yes, and his gaze flicked from Shinji to Kisuke and back again, but he wasn't scared. Instead his expression was filled with a nervous kind of hope.

Kisuke nodded confirmation and said, "This is the solution I was talking about."

"He can control it?" The hope was growing. Kisuke was uncomfortably reminded of all those poor souls he'd sent to Soul Society under the false pretences that they were going somewhere better. 

"So he says."

It was Shinji's turn to look confused, though that faded as Ichigo's eyes started to bleed black. Shinji's eyes widened and he thrust his palm into Ichigo's face. Reiatsu surged and Ichigo dropped like a stone.

"Tanma otoshi?" Kisuke identified, "Isn't that just a little excessive?"

Shinji ignored him. He had his hands jammed in his pockets and was staring down at Ichigo. After a moment he said, "I've got it. It's a captive breeding program, isn't it? For some reason you decided there weren't enough of us, so you thought you'd make some of your own."

It hadn't started out like that, but he could why Shinji might think that way. Kisuke gave the comatose Ichigo a doleful look then turned to cast an equally unhappy one at Abarai, who was now pacing the inside of Hachigen's barrier like a tiger in a cage. "I suppose it does rather seem that way. Though, rest assured, it certainly wasn't my intention."

Shinji snorted. "Says the scientist on the road to hell." His mask vanished and he sighed. "I suppose we do owe you," he said, "though you can consider this full and final payment." 

Kisuke nodded, reminding himself that there would be time later to bring up the Aizen issue. Debts paid off or not, he knew Shinji and the others wouldn't turn down a chance at Aizen if the opportunity arose. 

He indicated Zabimaru. "Will just putting her in with him do the trick?" he asked. Despite what Shinji thought, Kisuke did listen to other people. There was no point having an expert at hand and not asking for advice.

Shinji looked thoughtful. "She should dematerialise as soon as she gets close enough to the other half of her soul," he said after a moment, "So it'd be better if we could get her out of the gigai first. Just in case the hollow decides to attack." 

That was easily done. Kisuke reached out and tapped Zabimaru on the forehead with Benihime, and the next second a massive white baboon with a snake for a tail was sprawled unconscious at their feet.

Shinji squeaked and hopped back. "That was in there?" he said, aghast. "Damn, wait till I tell Kensei. Lisa's never gonna live this one down." This time his laugh was clear and full of wicked humour. Kisuke almost felt sorry for his victim, until he remembered who Shinji was talking about. Lisa would easily give as good as she got.

Between them they managed to roll Zabimaru across the dusty ground to the edge of the barrier, and then on Shinji's mark, Hachigen opened a doorway and they pushed Zabimaru inside. For a second nothing happened then, from the far side of the enclosure came a scream and the hollow attacked.

To absolutely no effect. The moment it came close enough for its claws to touch the comatose nue, Zabimaru vanished as though it had never been there.

#

Darkness closed around the tiny, wrinkly hand of the baby macaque. Renji closed his eyes for a second, thinking: _all is lost_. Blackness began to blot out his vision. Ice blocked his throat, and began to freeze his brain―his very soul. Just as everything started to fade into pain and hunger, the numbing emptiness was shattered by a noise.

A bellowing cry shook the frozen waters.

_Roar, Zabimaru!_

Renji’s eyes snapped open to see a giant, clawed paw lift out from the darkness. Where the tiny monkey hand had disappeared now rose that of an albino baboon. Its talons tore the ice from Renji’s face. A powerful arm shot up from the inky blackness and wrapped around Renji, dragging them upward with the speed of a torpedo. The snake tail slashed furiously, racing toward the surface.

Once his face broke through the ice, Renji took a great, shuddering gulp of air. Zabimaru, back in the guise of the nue, held him close and kept them buoyant.

#

Abarai staggered sideways, shaking his masked head like a bear being harassed by bees, and came to rest on his haunches, panting heavily and swaying slightly.

Kisuke went to take a step forwards, wondering if maybe that was it. Shinji put a hand on his arm and when Kisuke glanced over, he shook his head. "It'll probably take a while," he said. "An hour, tops. Any longer and he's toast."

"I...see," Kisuke replied, thinking that it was just possible that he was starting to. This was what they'd done to control their own? No, there had to be more to it than that.

He glanced over at Ichigo, who was just beginning to stir, and then back at Abarai. There was nothing more he could do. Now they just had to wait to see what happened.

#

Renji buried his face in the wet, steaming fur of Zabimaru’s shoulder, and concentrated on breathing. The water was warming, but it was cold enough that great shivers racked his body. Zabimaru nudged him in the direction of the rocky outcropping in the centre of the hot springs.

Weakly, Renji dragged his quivering body onto the tiny island. Zabimaru bounded up and shook out its fur like a dog, sending sheets of water drops through the air. Renji was too exhausted to protest at the cold, nue-smelling rain. He just clung to the rock, panting.

A tremor shook the ground just before a familiar voice said, “Like always. Flat on your ass again, you pathetic loser.”

Renji pulled his head up with great effort. Standing on the shore, leaning casually against a large, upright boulder was a man. He could have been Renji’s twin, except his brassy crimson hair was longer and unbound… and dirty, matted in places with grunge. And, instead of the uniform of the shinigami, he was dressed in a finely-tailored indigo kimono garishly decorated with white tigers with gold-thread stripes. In sharp contrast to the fine-quality silk, he was barefoot. His feet were similarly grubby and unwashed. 

The man’s smile was jagged and sharp, and he reached out a hand to scratch behind the ear of a nue. The demon had appeared beside him, and it was jet black―the colour of midnight and nightmares. Its fur was marked with white swirls, like a photo-negative of Zabimaru. Its eyes held more wildness than intelligence, and its heavy yellow fangs bared, snarling. The snake tail slithered and hissed.

“Who the hell are you?” Renji asked, pulling himself to his feet. Zabimaru stood beside him, butting his head under his palm, until Renji stood with one hand resting just above Zabimaru’s neck. 

They faced each other over the steaming water, like twisted mirror images.

“Who do you think?” the other asked, smirking. Pushing his hip from the boulder, he stood straighter. He pulled his ragged ruby hair from his forehead. Instead of tribal tattoos on his face, Renji could see the dark marks of two characters, one over each brow. They read: 野犬, Stray Dog. “But you can call me ‘Taicho.’”

“The fuck I will. You got to earn a title like that,” Renji bristled. His hand automatically dropped to the scabbard of the sword at his hip. As his left hand closed around it, his thumb at the ready to release the guard, Renji suddenly realized he was no longer naked. Not only was he wearing his shihakushō again, it was the dress uniform―his lieutenant’s badge strapped in place on his bicep. 

The other just smiled. He opened his arms. The sleeves of his rich kimono fluttered in a sudden wind. Sand and grit stung Renji’s eyes suddenly. As the gale increased, Renji had to lift his arm to protect his face from the sandstorm. 

Just as quickly as it had begun, the wind died down. Renji dropped his hand and opened his eyes. The hot springs were gone, replaced by dusty, dirty streets. The broken down buildings were no more than squats held upright by tenacious grime and a whole lot of bad luck.

Renji recognized the rotting stench in the air instantly.

Inuzuri. 

“Welcome to my world. The place I could have ruled, if you weren’t such a puppy for little sister, following her lead to Academy,” the other purred wickedly. 

Renji was unimpressed, though it explained the fancy clothes. The more he looked at the garishness of the kimono, the more Renji recognized the nouveau riche style of the district’s yakuza toughs. This guy thought he was Inuzuri’s boss, eh? “So what? You’re nothing but the king of the garbage heap.”

“What do they say? I’d rather rule in hell, than serve in heaven.”

Renji snorted. “You’re an idiot. I’m never calling you taicho.”

The other cocked his hip, and regarded Renji down his long, narrow face. His hand rested on a short dagger at his side. “Oh, yeah, that’s right. There’s only one for you. That fancy nobleman you admire so, so much. The one that Rukia ran to the second he held out his dainty, lily-white hand. She gobbled up the treats he offered and left us in the dust. He trained her up good and proper, too. Now the only one she thinks of as her big brother is Kuchiki Byakuya. Never mind that you were the one that held her hand in the darkness for a thousand years.” The other’s smile was sharp and feral. “You mean that one? That’s the one you’d rather be your captain?”

“That’s right,” Renji said, feeling his jaw set, but not rising to the bait. It did hurt, though. Never once had Rukia ever called him even onii-san. But Kuchiki-taicho… he was nii-sama, after what? A day? Months? 

When had he earned that title, that respect? 

The other continued to sneer at him. “I guess if I want you to call me captain, I need to be more like him. I’ll have to slip a kidō collar around your neck and stab you a thousand times, over and over, until you’re nothing but a broken, bloody mess whining at my feet, all the while telling you exactly what I think of a mutt like you, huh? ‘The difference between us,’ eh, Renji? Class, he said. I guess it’s a good thing you were right there licking his hand when he woke up. Wouldn’t want the pretty captain to know how I’m still choking on that bone he rammed down our throats, the one that’s still stuck in your craw, too, if you think about it.” 

Renji could feel his skin flushing with shame at the other’s words. “Shut up!” he snapped.

“Oh, you wound me with your witty repartee, fukutaichō,” the other said languidly. “But, I guess that’s the best retort you’ve got to the truth. That captain you were going to get all heart-felt with―he thinks you’re no better than me. Just a stray following at his heel, tail between its legs, begging for a scrap of attention. Heh. Good touch or bad--a sad, lost puppy like you don’t care much which, do ya?” 

“That’s not how it is,” Renji said, though he wished he felt as certain as he sounded.

The smile turned into a hard frown now. The other began to pace, like a caged animal. Dust kicked up under his dirty feet. “No? Do you really think you’re anything to that True First princeling besides his bitch? What kind of fantasy are you living in, boy, if you believe he’s ever going let you off your knees or stand in front of him? None of them will, you know. That captain of yours just said to your face what everyone else says behind your back. You’re some piece of dog shit they found on their fancy shoes, Abarai―tracking your stinking Rukongai trash all over the Soul Society. They’re never going let you be a captain…, god forbid, their equal. Even though,” the other said, pulling the short sword from his hip, “if you just slipped your leash, you’d be stronger than all of them.”

Renji barely had time to clear Zabimaru from its sheath, before the other had leaped the distance with a rebel cry. 

Beside him, he could hear the spitting growls as the two nue began to grapple. Renji’s eyes stayed focused on the other, though. His wild attacks came in quick succession, with no reason or rhyme. 

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” The other screamed, and, in no time, Renji was backed up against a wall, having had no chance to do anything but defend against the onslaught.


End file.
